The pressure is building on the manager after another promising summer transfer window. He had targeted an improvement on the ninth-placed finishes they have secured for the past three years, but is concerned doing so will soon prove beyond them.

“We have ambitions this season and, if this run continues any longer, we won’t be able to achieve them,” said Hughes, whose team were 2-0 down inside 11 minutes after goals from James Tomkins and Scott Dann.

“We’ve been ninth in the Premier League in the last three years, and we spoke about being better than that.

“We’re giving ourselves too much to do. Confidence is damaged after the last few results, and you can see that in some of the players’ play. A number of them are lacking form.

“Collectively we need to be better. We can’t keep conceding easy goals like the first two.”

With two further goals in the second half from James McArthur and Andros Townsend – Marko Arnautovic responded in the fourth minute of stoppage time for Stoke – Palace became the third team this season to score four past Hughes’ team.

The absence of the injured Jack Butland has contributed much to the uncertainty seen in the defence playing in front of Shay Given, and Hughes said: “Jack’s a loss for us, something we were not expecting.

“Last year it hurt us (when he was injured). We go with what we’ve got, and we have to be better. We have an opportunity on Wednesday (against Hull) and Saturday (against West Brom) to turn things round very quickly.”